This document provides the agenda and background materials for a statewide conference titled "Vision Project 'Big Three' Conference" being held on February 27, 2015. The conference will focus on advancing knowledge around strategies to increase college completion rates, close achievement gaps, and boost college participation among underserved groups. Campus delegations from various Massachusetts public colleges will participate in working sessions in the morning and afternoon focused on these three topics. They will discuss effective strategies currently being implemented and ways the Department of Higher Education can provide support moving forward.

1. i
VISION PROJECT
“BIG THREE”
CONFERENCE
Advancing Our Knowledge
as a System Based on the
Expertise of Our Campuses
STATEWIDE CONFERENCE
Friday, February 27, 2015
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
Westborough, MA
#VisionBig3

2. 2
Conference Agenda Room
9:30 a.m. Registration with Coffee/Refreshments Ballroom Foyer
10:00 a.m. Welcome Please be sure to sit at the table number which is shown on your nametag.
Charles F. Desmond, Chairman, Massachusetts Board of Higher Education
Richard M. Freeland, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (MDHE)
James A. Peyser, Secretary, Massachusetts Executive Office of Education
Carlos E. Santiago, Senior Deputy Commissioner for Academic Affairs, MDHE
Viking/Autumn/
Baldwin
10:45 a.m. Break / Transition Time
11:00 a.m. Morning Working Sessions Your working session is identified on your nametag. Background information for
the Campus Delegation sessions is on pages 4–5.
Session for Campus Delegations: COLLEGE COMPLETION Baldwin
Session for Campus Delegations: CLOSING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS Autumn
Session for Campus Delegations: COLLEGE PARTICIPATION Viking
Session for Presidents, Trustees and BHE Members
Richard M. Freeland, Commissioner, MDHE
Edgewood
Session for Chief Academic Officers
Carlos E. Santiago, Senior Deputy Commissioner for Academic Affairs, MDHE
Nugget/
Wellington
Session for Public Relations Officers
Katy Abel, Associate Commissioner for External Affairs, MDHE
Jon Marcus, Higher Education Reporter
Captain's Room
12:45 p.m. Lunch Pick-up / Transition Time Please pick up lunch in the Ballroom Foyer and then move to
your Afternoon Working Session (next item) to dine with your campus delegation.
Ballroom Foyer
G
Map of Session Locations

3. 3
1:00 p.m. Lunch / Afternoon Working Sessions The afternoon provides each campus delegation with time to
share learnings from the various morning sessions and to develop an initial plan for next steps based on this
knowledge. We also encourage campuses to identify ways that the Department of Higher Education can support
them in this work.
Berkshire Community College Edgewood MassBay Community College Jonathan
Bridgewater State University Chandler Middlesex Community College Nugget/
Wellington
Bristol Community College Chandler Mt. Wachusett Community College Chandler
Bunker Hill Community College Captains North Shore Community College Nugget/
Wellington
Cape Cod Community College Empire Northern Essex Community College Nugget/
Wellington
Fitchburg State University Chandler Quinsigamond Community College Chandler
Framingham State University Jonathan Roxbury Community College Captains
Greenfield Community College Edgewood Salem State University Nugget/
Wellington
Holyoke Community College Edgewood Springfield Technical
Community College
Edgewood
Mass. College of Art & Design Chandler University of Massachusetts (all) York
Mass. College of Liberal Arts Edgewood Westfield State University Edgewood
Massachusetts Maritime Academy Empire Worcester State University Chandler
Massasoit Community College Chandler
2:45 p.m. Break / Transition Time
3:00 p.m. Discussion & Closing Commissioner Freeland will host a closing session in which
participants will be able to share some of the insights and remaining questions from the
day, their plans moving forward, and how the DHE can best support them in their work.
Richard M. Freeland, Commissioner, MDHE
Viking/Autumn/
Baldwin
3:30 p.m. Program End
Are you tweeting about the conference?
Please use our official hashtag:
#VisionBig3

4. 4
COLLEGE COMPLETION
Create programs targeted at
First Year Students.
Examples include early warning systems, registra-
tion outreach, first year experience courses,
learning communities.
Ensure students don’t take excessive or
unnecessary credits.
Examples include capping degree credit require-
ments, placing students into highly structured
degree plans, aligning two-year and four-year
curriculum to facilitate ease of transfer, improving
credit transfer policies.
Rethink scheduling to better
support completion.
Examples include prioritizing 15-credit/semester
scheduling, providing structured and predictable
schedules, mapping out degree program schedules,
ensuring milestone courses are available when
needed, creating meta-majors.
Transform Developmental Math.
Examples include new placement rules, co-requisite
developmental and college-level math courses,
Emporium model, 5-day/week Developmental Math,
Developmental Math acceleration, better alignment
of high school and college math courses.
Tap institutional research, financial
incentives, and non-academic support
to promote full time attendance.
Examples include using institutional research to
drive completion interventions, providing financial
incentives to attend full-time, using institutional
aid to reduce the time students need to spend at
off-campus jobs.
Effective Strategies Underway at Our Campuses
The Vision Project“Big Three”Conference is
a working conference at which experts
from every public campus are convening to
learn from one another about strategies
currently being implemented on our
campuses to boost completion rates,
close achievement gaps, and increase
participation of underserved groups.

5. 5
CLOSING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS
Consciously create supportive
relationships for students.
Examples include both student-to-student
and faculty/staff-to-student mentoring,
advising, coaching.
Provide targeted support for
underrepresented students.
Examples include providing curriculum, student
services, and resources focused on first generation
and low income students and students of color.
Provide targeted support for
low-income males/males of color.
Examples include positive youth development
programs, gender and academic and socio-
emotional supports, cultural asset-based activities.
Build a campus climate that supports
and enhances diversity.
Examples include ensuring administration, faculty,
and staff are diverse along lines of race/ethnicity,
gender, and sexual orientation; addressing micro-
aggressions; cultural competency trainings.
Make learning relevant and applied
where appropriate.
Examples include using internships, co-ops, and
service learning to connect the classroom to career,
offer contextualized developmental math, provide
information about high demand career options
that students may not be aware of, recruit industry
experts to speak or teach on campus.
COLLEGE PARTICIPATION
Actively recruit adult learners, veterans,
and out-of-school youth, and support
their transition to college.
Examples include veterans’ outreach programs, out-
reach to adults who have completed some college,
recruitment of 16- to 24-year old youth who are
neither enrolled in school or employed, partnerships
with Adult Basic Education, ESOL, or adult college
transition programs.
Engage in Early College work with
traditional age students.
Examples include college access activities, dual
enrollment, math boot camp, hybrid high school
to college models.
Develop strategies to increase college
participation of students of color and
low-income students.
Examples include outreach to community-based
organizations, summer bridge programs,
college access and success programs, on-site
registration/acceptance.
Build strong partnerships with K–12
schools and districts.
Examples include joint curriculum development
with high school and college faculty, programs to
bring K–12 students onto campus, engaging high
school-based liaisons.
Develop institution-wide approaches to
enrollment and retention.
Examples include K–12/higher education
curriculum alignment and joint curriculum
development, programs to bring K–12 students
onto campus, high school-based liaisons.

6. 6
Notes
The“Big Three”Completion Plan is
also outlined in Degrees of Urgency,
the third Vision Project annual report,
available here at the conference
and at www.mass.edu/vpreport.

7. 7
#VisionBig3
Tweet us!
@MassDHE
Tweet each other!
@BerkshireCC
@BridgeStateU
@bristolcc
@BHCCBoston
@CapeCodComCol
@Fitchburg_State
@FraminghamU
@GfldCommCollege
@HolyokeCC
@MassBayCommCol
@MassArt
@MCLA_Edu
@MMAAdmissions
@MassasoitTweets
@middlesex_cc
@MountWachusett
@northshore_cc
@NorthernEssex
@Quinsig
@SeeRCC
@SalemState
@S_T_C_C
@UMassAmherst
@UMassBoston
@UMassDartmouth
@UMassLowell
@UMassMedical
@WestfieldState
@WorcesterState

8. 8
We will produce the best-educated
citizenry and workforce in the nation.
We will be a national leader in research
that drives economic development.
www.mass.edu/visionproject
This conference was made possible
through a grant from the
Nellie Mae Education Foundation.
Cover photos courtesy of (from left)
Berkshire, Bunker Hill and Greenfield Community Colleges.